Apocalypto

IN front of and behind the camera, Mel Gibson has never shied away from exacting creative challenges, whether it be the physical demands of the Mad Max films or the logistical enormity of his 1995 epic Braveheart.

IN front of and behind the camera, Mel Gibson has never shied away from exacting creative challenges, whether it be the physical demands of the Mad Max films or the logistical enormity of his 1995 epic Braveheart.

Two years ago, The Passion Of The Christ, Gibson's controversial retelling of the final 12 hours of Jesus Christ's life, became a critical and commercial phenomenon despite numerous religious protests.

In recent months, the filmmaker's personal travails have been making all the headlines but with Apocalypto, his fourth film as director, Gibson reaffirms his reputation as a true visionary.

Shot in the Yucatec language, the primary Mayan dialect spoken in the Yucatan peninsula, with a cast of largely unknown, indigenous peoples from the Americas, Gibson's new film boldly recreates the collapse of an ancient empire through the eyes of a man embroiled in the bloodshed.

Caring father Jaguar Paw (Youngblood) is struggling to emerge from the shadow of his father Flint Sky (Bird), the current leader of a hunter tribe.

With encouragement from hen-pecked best friend Blunted (Brewer), Jaguar Paw gains confidence and self-belief, so that one day he might assume control of the tribe and make his wife Seven (Hernandez) and young son Turtles Run (Baez) proud.

When ferocious Holcane warrior Zero Wolf (Trujillo) and his minions, including the sadistic Snake Ink (Palacios) and brutish Middle Eye (Taracena), attack the village, Jaguar Paw hides his wife and child before being overpowered.

He is spirited away to the Mayan city where he faces a grisly fate as a human sacrifice to the Gods.

However, a grim prophecy offers a glimmer of hope for Jaguar Paw, providing a way back to the jungle where the hunter can finally turn the tables on his pursuers.

Apocalypto is a tour-de-force - part history lesson, part chase movie - that melds Gibson and co-writer Farhad Safinia's lean script with directorial brio to immerse us in a world of strange rituals and awe-inspiring faith.

There is so much to take in as production designer Tom Sanders accomplishes the seemingly impossible feat of reconstructing a long dead civilisation, including a bustling city dominated by a blood-stained, sacrificial pyramid.

Gibson and cinematographer Dean Semler race through the jungle, matching their hero every breathless step of the way using the state-of-the-art high-definition Genesis system.

Cameras careen through the undergrowth at dizzying speed, momentarily dazzled by natural light which penetrates the rainforest canopy, to create some truly jaw-dropping sequences like Jaguar Paw trying to outrun a wild cat and his Holcane tormentors.

Youngblood perfectly embodies the strength and resilience of a young father desperate to return to his stricken family, while Trujillo is terrifying as the bloodthirsty warrior who will stop at nothing to snare Jaguar Paw.

"When I catch him, I will peel his skin and have him watch me wear it," snarls Zero Wolf.